1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an ultrasonic probe configured to generate an image of an inside a subject by using an ultrasonic wave.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is an apparatus configured to scan an ultrasonic signal toward a desired portion at an inside a body of a subject from a surface of a body of the subject, and to obtain an image through a non-invasive measurement with respect to a cross section of a soft tissue or a blood flow by using the information of the ultrasonic signal, that is, an ultrasonic echo signal, that is reflected. The apparatus as such, when compared to other image diagnostic apparatus such as an x-ray diagnostic apparatus, an x-ray CT scanner (a Computerized Tomography scanner), a MRI (a Magnetic Resonance Image), or a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus, is small-sized and inexpensive, while capable of displaying an image in real time, and since no radiation exposure of x-ray is present, a high level of safety is provided, and thus the apparatus as such is widely used in the diagnosis of a heart, a stomach, and an urinary system, as well as in the diagnosis of gynecology.
Particularly, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe configured to transmit an ultrasonic signal to a subject to obtain an ultrasonic image of the subject, and to receive the ultrasonic echo signal being reflected from the subject.
The ultrasonic probe includes a piezo-electric layer configured to reciprocally change an electrical signal and an acoustic signal while piezo-electric material is vibrated, a matching layer configured to decrease a difference of acoustic impedance in between the piezo-electric layers and a subject so that the ultrasonic wave generated at the piezo-electric layer may be delivered to the subject as much as possible, a len layers configured to gather the ultrasonic wave proceeding toward a front of the piezo-electric layer to a particular point, a transducer module having an acoustic absorption layer, that is, a backing layer, that prevent an image distortion by blocking the ultrasonic wave from proceeding toward a rear of the piezo-electric layer, a case having an upper portion thereof open, and a cover configured to make contact with a surface of the subject while being coupled to the upper portion of the case having an opening thereof.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is configured to obtain a cross-sectional image of a subject by scanning an ultrasonic wave at an inside the subject, and detecting the reflection of the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as such includes a mechanical scanning method configured to scan an ultrasonic wave by moving an ultrasonic probe in a mechanical manner, and an electronic scanning method configured to scan an ultrasonic wave by a control of the electronic change and the delayed time by using an array oscillator, that is, an ultrasonic transducer array.
A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is generally configured to scan an ultrasonic beam to an inside a single surface, and thus is composed of a system configured to display a cross section, that is, a plane surface image. However, in recent years, an attempt to obtain three-dimensional information by collecting a diagnostic image while moving an ultrasonic probe, which is an ultrasonic transmission/reception unit of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is being frequently made, and a displaying of a three-dimensional image with respect to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is expected to lead to a possibility of a new diagnosis.
Particularly, a two-dimensional ultrasonic transducer array and a two-dimensional array system provided with an objective to obtain three-dimensional image information, by arranging ultrasonic transducer elements (oscillators) that compose the piezo-electric layer of the ultrasonic probe in a two-dimensional manner and by scanning beam at a diagnostic domain in a three-dimensional manner through the control of the electronic change and the delayed time, is being researched.
By using the ultrasonic transducers employed with the two-dimensional array system as such, when compared to a system configured to mechanically move the ultrasonic transducer, a collection of three-dimensional information may be able to be performed within a short period of time, and the real-time processing performance may be remarkably enhanced.
When manufacturing the two-dimensional transducer array being used at the two-dimensional array system as such, the ultrasonic transducer elements are arranged in a two-dimensional manner while having a microscopic distance in between the ultrasonic transducer elements so that an ultrasonic wave may be deflected toward a predetermined direction. At this time, from each of the ultrasonic transducer elements arranged in a two-dimensional manner, an electrode lead wire electrically connected is needed to be withdrawn.
However, since the number of the ultrasonic transducer elements being arranged at the two-dimensional transducer array is in thousands of units, the withdrawal of the electrode lead wire from the each of the ultrasonic transducer elements is practically difficult, and even in a case when the electrode lead wire is withdrawn from the each of the ultrasonic transducer elements, a many number of electrode lead wires being withdrawn may be tangled at an inside a narrow space of the piezo-electric layers, and thus a composition of a circuit is being complicated.